1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lever-support bracket apparatus for a small waterboat, in which the apparatus is a unitary member capable of supporting both the front end of a seat, and an operation lever for a reverse bucket.
2. Description of the Background Art
A small waterboat, or personal watercraft, is a small size craft that is constructed and arranged to glide under power across the surface of a sea or of a lake. Many jet skis and other different types of personal watercraft are known and are commercially available. One example of a small waterboat is described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. Hei 9-281132.
The small waterboat described in this reference includes an engine and a jet propeller driven by the engine, both provided in a craft body, and also includes a steering nozzle behind the jet propeller. In the operation of the small waterboat according to the reference, the jet propeller is driven by the engine to rotate an impeller of the water jet propeller, so that water is taken in through an inlet port of the craft bottom by the rotation of the impeller.
The water taken in is expelled rearwardly, as exhaust jet water from the rear end of the steering nozzle, so that the small waterboat can be moved forward by the jetting force of the jet water.
The small waterboat is also provided with a reverse bucket, to enable a user to bring the hull backward when necessary. By moving the reverse bucket towards the rear of the steering nozzle, the jet water which has been ejected from the steering nozzle can be deflected towards the front of the craft, successfully causing the hull to move backward.
An operation lever is coupled to the reverse bucket via a reverse operation cable, and the operation lever is pivotally attached to a lever-support bracket, at the front end of a seat.
Such attachment of the operation lever at the front end of the seat allows an operator to operate the lever while seated in an ordinary posture.
Further, since the seat is provided behind the operation lever, a tongue-shaped piece is provided at the front end thereof, and a locking structure is provided at the rear end thereof. The seat can be attached to the hull by inserting the tongue-shaped piece into a socket section on the hull, and by latching the locking structure to the hull.
As noted, the operation lever is provided for operating the reverse bucket, and in practice, the lever-support bracket, supporting such an operation lever, receives a rather large operation force applied thereto. Thus, the lever-support bracket has to be made strong, durable and relatively rigid.
Moreover, to firmly fasten the seat to the hull, the socket section, into which the tongue-shaped piece located at the seat front end is inserted, also has to be made strong, durable and relatively rigid.
The problem here is that, to increase the strength and rigidity of the lever-support bracket and the socket section, these members will be increased in size. What is worse, the lever-support bracket and the socket section need to be placed close to each other. This makes it difficult to secure space sufficient to accommodate both the lever-support bracket and the socket section.
If a space large enough to accommodate both the lever-support bracket and the socket section is to be secured, this poses limitations on component layout in the hull, placing significant limits on design flexibility.
Further, the conventional lever-support bracket and socket section each require two separate component pieces, for a total of four pieces. Such an increase of the number of parts will stand in the way of cost reduction.